Qorbanot: Sacrifices and Offerings

We begin by answering the questions most commonly asked on these subjects, and then proceed to a more comprehensive discussion of the subject of qorbanot.

Do Jews offer sacrifices today?

No. No Jews today are known to publicly offer any kind of animal sacrifice or offerings, nor have Jews offered sacrifices since the second century C.E. There are Orthodox Jews in Israel who practice the techniques of ritual sacrifice, so that the knowledge will not be lost; a remembrance of the Pesach sacrifice was slaughtered in 5760 (2000 C.E.), within sight of the Temple Mount. But this is not at all the same thing as offering a sacrifice.

When did Jews stop offering sacrifices, and why?

For the most part, the practice of sacrifice stopped in the year 70 C.E., when the Roman army destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, the place where sacrifices were offered. The practice was briefly resumed during the Jewish War of 132-135 C.E., but was ended permanently after that war was lost. There were also a few communities that continued sacrifices for a while after that time.

We stopped offering sacrifices because we do not have a proper place to offer them. The Torah specifically commands us not to offer sacrifices wherever we feel like it; we are only permitted to offer sacrifices in the place that God has chosen for that purpose (Deuteronomy 12,13-14). It would be a sin to offer sacrifices in any other place.

The last place appointed by God for this purpose was the Temple in Jerusalem; but the Temple has been destroyed, and a mosque has been erected in the place where it stood. Until we observant Jews recapture the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple, we cannot offer sacrifices.

Orthodox Jews believe that when the Mashiach comes, sacrifices will be renewed. Some of us think it better not to wait for him, but to be about the business of rebuilding the Temple and reinstituting the sacrifices; in any event, it is permitted to bring all of the regular order of sacrifices today on the Temple Mount at the place where the altar was, even now when the Temple is no longer standing.

Do Jews want to resume sacrifices?

Orthodox Jews do. There are several places in our daily prayer services where we pray for the restoration of the Temple and the resumption of its rituals, including the rituals of sacrifice.

Did the kohanim (priests) or anybody else eat the animals offered?

Yes! Most types of offerings could and should be eaten. Certain types were eaten by the kohanim only, or by a specific kohein. Other types were eaten by the person offering the sacrifice and his family, friends, and guests (particularly the poor who could not afford sacrifices themselves). The types of offerings and who was permitted to eat them will be discussed further below.

Isn't sacrifice cruelty to animals?

Animal sacrifice is no more cruel than slaughtering animals for food. In fact, the procedure for slaughtering livestock for sacrificial purposes is the same as the procedure used for slaughtering animals for food, a procedure commanded by God that is designed to be as quick and painless as possible (see Shechitah). The Torah is very concerned about the proper treatment of animals, and would never advocate a cruel procedure for animal sacrifice.

How do Jews obtain forgiveness without sacrifices?

Forgiveness of sins against God alone is simply obtained through repentance and confession of one's sins in words before God Himself, and amending one's future conduct according to the halakhah; when one sins against a person (as by theft or injury), he must also do his best to make restitution to the person injured and gain his forgiveness, as well as repenting, confessing, and making amends in future conduct before God. Gentiles may be surprised to learn that this is as fully effective for them as for Jews (which is the main point of the Book of Jonah, of course; see Jonah 3,10, in particular). When the Temple stands, some sins require offerings as explained below in addition to this repentance process, not instead of it; without this repentance process, offerings for sins are totally ineffective, and must be brought again when one has truly repented.

It is important to emphasize that under the Torah, sacrifice was never the exclusive means of obtaining forgiveness, was not in and of itself sufficient to obtain forgiveness, and in certain circumstances was not even effective to obtain forgiveness. This will be discussed further below.

In current Jewish practice, prayer and study of the laws of sacrifices has taken the place of sacrifices. In accordance with the words of Hosea, we render instead of bullocks the offering of our lips (Hosea 14,3; please note that the KJV translates this somewhat differently). While dedicating the Temple, King Solomon referred to the idea that prayer can be used to obtain forgiveness (I Kings 8,46-50). Our prayer services are in many ways designed to parallel the sacrificial practices; for example, we have an extra service on shabbat, to parallel the extra shabbat offering. For more information about this, see Jewish Liturgy.

But isn't a blood sacrifice required in order to obtain forgiveness?

Not at all, as we have just seen in the previous paragraph. Although animal sacrifice is one means of obtaining forgiveness, there are non-animal offerings as well, and there are other means for obtaining forgiveness that do not involve sacrifices at all.

The passage that people ordinarily cite for the notion that blood is required is Leviticus 17,11: "For the soul of the flesh is in the blood and I have assigned it for you upon the altar to provide atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that atones for the soul". But the passage that this verse comes from is not about atonement, but about dietary laws, and the passage only says that blood is used to obtain atonement--not that blood is the sole means for obtaining atonement. Leviticus 17,10-12 could be paraphrased as "Do not eat blood, because blood is used in atonement rituals; therefore, do not eat blood".

Were sacrifices a symbol of the savior to come?

Not according to the Torah. That is a Christian teaching that has no basis in Jewish thought. Jews do not believe in a savior, and do not believe that sacrifice has anything to do with a savior or mashiach.

Quite the contrary, some would say that the original institution of sacrifice had more to do with the Torah's past than with its future. Maimonides suggested that the entire sacrificial cult in Torah was ordained as an accommodation to man's primitive desires; but once God included it in the Torah, it became a permanent part of our required worship of God.

Sacrifice was an ancient and universal human expression of religion. Sacrifice existed among the Hebrews long before the giving of the Torah. When the laws of sacrifice were laid down in the Torah, the pre-existence of a system of sacrificial offering was understood, and sacrificial terminology was used without any explanation. The Torah, rather than creating the institution of sacrifice, carefully circumscribes and limits the practice, permitting it only in certain places, at certain times, in certain manners, by certain people, and for certain purposes. Maimonides suggested that these limitations are designed to wean a primitive people away from the debased rites of their idolatrous neighbors.

In ancient times, a major component of Jewish ritual was the offering of qorbanot. An entire order of the Talmud (Kodashim, that is, Holy Things) is devoted to the subject.

The word "qorbanot" is usually translated as "sacrifices" or "offerings"; however, both of these terms suggest a loss of something or a giving up of something, and although that is certainly a part of the ritual, that is not at all the literal meaning of the Hebrew word. The word qorbanot comes from the root Qof-Resh-Bet, which means to draw near, and indicates the primary purpose of offerings: to draw us near to God.

Parts of the rituals involved in the offering of qorbanot were performed exclusively by the kohanim (priests). These rituals were only performed in the Temple in Jerusalem. The procedures could not be performed by anyone else, and could not be performed in any other place. Because the Temple no longer exists, we can no longer offer qorbanot.

There are three basic concepts underlying qorbanot. The first the aspect of giving. A qorban requires the renunciation of something that belongs to the person making the offering. Thus, sacrifices are made from domestic animals, not wild animals (because wild animals do not belong to anyone). Likewise, offerings of food are ordinarily in the form of flour or meal, which requires substantial work to prepare.

Another important concept is the element of substitution. The idea is that the thing being offered is a substitute for the person making the offering, and the things that are done to the offering are things that should have been done to the person offering. The offering is in some sense "punished" in place of the offerer. It is interesting to note that whenever the subject of qorbanot is addressed in the Torah, the name of God used is the four-letter name indicating God's mercy.

The third important concept is of coming closer. The essence of sacrifice is to bring a person closer to God.

Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of qorbanot is not simply to obtain forgiveness from sin. When the Temple stands, every Jew who can is required to come to Jerusalem three times a year for special holidays that require bringing several different types of qorbanot, most of which are eaten by the celebrants with their family and friends. These qorbanot bring the Jewish people together, and build both solidarity between us and our God on the one hand and among us on the other.

Certain qorbanot are brought purely for the purpose of communing with God and becoming closer to Him. Others are brought for the purpose of expressing thanks, love, or gratitude to God. Others are used to cleanse a person of ritual impurity (which does not necessarily have anything to do with sin). And yes, some qorbanot are brought for purposes of atonement.

The atoning aspect of qorbanot is carefully circumscribed. For the most part, qorbanot only expiate unintentional sins, that is, sins committed because a person forgot that this thing was a sin. No atonement is needed for violations committed under duress, and for the most part, qorbanot cannot atone for a malicious, deliberate sin. In addition, qorbanot have no expiating effect unless the person making the offering sincerely repents of his actions before making the offering, and makes restitution to any person harmed by his sin.

There are many different types of qorbanot, and the laws related to them are detailed and complicated. This section will merely introduce some of the major types of qorbanot, their names, and their characteristics. There are many subtypes within these classifications, and some other types that do not fit neatly into these categories.

Perhaps the best-known class of offerings is the burnt offering. It was the oldest and commonest sacrifice, and represented submission to God's will. The Hebrew word for burnt offering is olah, from the root Ayin-Lamed-Heh, meaning ascension. It is the same root as the word aliyah, which is used to describe moving to Israel or ascending to the podium to read from a Torah scroll. An olah is completely burnt on the outer altar; no part of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God (i.e., it cannot be used after it is burnt). It expresses a desire to commune with God. An olah could be brought from cattle, sheep, goats, or even doves. Gentiles were allowed to bring an olah in our Temple, unlike the rest of the kinds of qorbanot, which were reserved for Jews alone within the Temple itself; it should be remembered, however, that Gentiles are permitted to build their own place for qorbanot, and offer them to God themselves, and are promised reward for this meritorious behavior (it is disappointing that Gentiles have so far neglected this opportunity, by the way).

A peace offering is an offering expressing thanks or gratitude to God for His bounties and mercies. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zebach sh'lamim (or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning peace or wholeness. A representative portion of the offering is burnt on the altar, a portion is given to the kohanim, and the rest is eaten by the offerer and his family; thus, everyone gets a part of this offering. This category of offerings includes thanksgiving-offerings, free will-offerings, and offerings made after fulfillment of a vow. Note that this class of offerings has nothing to do with sin, and could properly be brought by the most righteous of the righteous.

A sin offering is an offering to atone for and purge a sin. It is an expression of sorrow for the error and a desire to be reconciled with God. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is chatat, from the word "chayt", meaning missing the mark. A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness or ignorance, not for intentional malicious sins. The size of the offering varied according to the nature of the sin and the financial means of the sinner. Some chatatot are individual and some are communal. Communal offerings represent the interdependence of the community, and the idea that we are all responsible for each other's sins. A few special chatatot could not be eaten, but for the most part, for the average person's personal sin, the chatat was eaten by the kohanim.

A guilt offering is an offering to atone for sins of stealing things from the altar, for when you are not sure whether you have committed a sin or what sin you have committed, or for breach of trust. The Hebrew word for a guilt offering is asham. When there was doubt as to whether a person committed a sin, the person would bring an asham, rather than a chatat, because bringing a chatat would constitute admission of the sin, and the person would have to be punished for it. If a person brought an asham and later discovered that he had in fact committed the sin, he would have to bring a chatat at that time. An asham was eaten by the kohanim.

A meal offering (minchah) represented the devotion of the fruits of man's work to God, because it was not a natural product, but something created through man's effort. A representative piece of the offering was burnt on the fire of the altar, but the rest was eaten by the kohanim.

In 1997 and again in 2002, red heifers were born in Israel. These births received quite a bit of press coverage, and there were many questions asking about their significance.

The ritual of the red heifer (in Hebrew, parah adumah) is part of one of the most mysterious rituals described in the Torah. The purpose of this ritual is to purify people from the defilement caused by contact with the dead. The ritual is described in Numbers 19. If you find it difficult to understand, do not feel bad; the sages themselves described it as beyond human understanding. What is so interesting about this ritual is that it purifies the impure, but it also renders the pure impure (i.e., everybody who participates in the ritual becomes impure).

It is believed by many that this ritual will be performed by the Mashiach when he comes, because we have all suffered the defilement of contact with the dead. Thus, the existence of a red heifer is a possible, but not definite, sign of the Mashiach. If the Mashiach were coming, there would be a red heifer, but there could be a red heifer without the Mashiach coming.

Unfortunately, in the end, both of heifers we have had so far were disqualified.